Been wanting to make lemon merangue pies for ages now. Finally got round to it. I basically used the recipe from Lazy Cat Kitchen. Thank you Ania! I love her recipes as they always actually work!!
I wont write out the whole recipe this time – just go to her page – but I did do a couple of things different:
1 – In the lemon curd I added in the lemon zest for extra lemon flavour. And I used 50/50 agave nectar and erythritol.
2 – In the merangue, I went 50/50 sugar and erythritol. I try to healthy it up a touch by reducing the sugar.
3 – I used cream of tartar (1/2 t) instead of the white wine vinegar.
There are a lot of useful tips in her recipe. Do pay attention to them!
I will just expand on them a bit:
Notes:
1 – The pastry – use cold water, and indeed add it little by little as you dont need a lot. As she says it depends on your flour.
2 – I forgot to soak the cashews overnight, so I just soaked in hot water for a couple of hours.
3 – I used literally a tiny sprinkle of turmeric for colour. Go easy as turmeric usually darkens slightly when heated.
4 – Aquafaba or chickpea water – I always used reduced aquafaba. I collect the liquid whenever I open a tin and freeze it till I have a whole lot. Then reduce it in a pan over medium heat by about a third. Then pour into ice cube trays and freeze.
Also very important to make sure your bowl, utensils and beaters are clean and grease free! Also your aquafaba should be cold.
5 – Same with piping bag – it must be clean and grease free.
6 – Indeed as Ania says – watch them under the grill very closely as they will burn quickly. (I turned my back for about 10 secs – probably should have taken mine out a fraction earlier. The one in the main pic I did with the blowtorch.)
I tried using the blowtorch on 2 of them. Worked very well. Actually you have more control this way.
7 Quantities – I made the slightly larger flatter pies – so I only got 7 out of this recipe.
Thank you again Ania from Lazy Cat Kitchen for a great recipe.
Bon apetit!
